3D-printed hairs: Ph.D. candidate, professor developing tiny sensors to detect flow and environmental changes
Eyelashes and brows catch dust and debris from entering eyes. The same idea goes for tiny nose and ear hairs.At a more microscopic level, the tiny hair-like cilia that line human cells help detect subtle environmental changes and can boost a person’s senses.
These are the concepts that nanoscience and nanotechnology doctoral candidate Phillip Glass and advisor Daeha Joung, Ph.D., are pursuing with their 3D-printed cilia sensors at the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences.
The two are exploring the field of mechanosensing, a biological term for the methods the body uses to collect external stimuli and send it to the brain — resulting in senses like touch, hearing, movement and pain. Mechanoreceptors are cells or organs that perform the sensing.Now they’re bringing the human concept to machines and robots.